Effective customer service is an essential requirement for commercial enterprises to compete successfully in a conventional worldwide economy. In the telecommunications industry, for example, providing customer service is an important part of sustaining market share in view of multiple competitors in the industry. In addition, to promote revenue growth for a telecommunications entity, for example, it is also important to provide customer service in a cost effective manner. The telecommunications entity needs effective and efficient methods and systems for performing installation and maintenance operations for the services offered to its customers.
Installation and maintenance service technicians working for a telecommunications entity typically need to collect a wide variety of data when performing field service operations for customers of the entity. In one conventional process, service is performed by these technicians on telecommunications equipment at a variety of customer locations. At the time service is performed, data may be communicated to the technician to assist in performing the service. Data may also be communicated to one or more computer systems employed by the telecommunications entity for analysis and other processing. Such data may be related to operation of a special service offered to the customer by the entity such as, for example, a high-speed data transmission service.
In a conventional process, at least part of the data communicated during a service operation is transmitted to/from the technician through a telephone or other wireline connection. This form of communication is labor intensive, however, and often sacrifices the productive time of the technician. Delays in communication can reduce the ability of the technician to accomplish multiple tasks in a single work shift. The technician may be forced to remain on hold, for example, waiting for an attendant to communicate with the technician to convey data related to diagnosis and completion of the service operation. It can be seen that data related to the service operation are not transmitted and processed on a near real-time basis. This conventional process also introduces many undesirable opportunities for error into the service operation. In addition, the telephone communication requirement of this process can result in complicated and non-uniform training procedures for new service technicians.
One example of a special service offering of a telecommunications entity involves the implementation and function of a high-speed data communications circuit. In an illustrative telecommunications circuit shown in FIG. 1, a central office 2 (also sometimes herein “CO”) is operatively connected to a customer location 4 by a cable pair 6. The cable pair 6 is configured for communication of data between the central office 2 and the customer location 4. In one aspect, the cable pair 6 can be employed to perform high-speed data transmission (e.g., HDSL) between the central office 2 and the customer location 4. As shown, the cable pair 6 can include one or more conductor sections 8, 10, 12 (e.g., copper wire) used to transmit a signal. Each conductor section 8, 10, 12 can have a corresponding length l1, l2, l3 and gauge g1, g2, g3 (respectively).
It can be appreciated that each conductor section 8, 10, 12 can have different electrical characteristics (i.e., conductance, resistance, capacitance, inductance, frequency loss, and the like) that impact transmission of a high-speed signal through the cable pair 6. In designing the high-speed communications circuit, therefore, the loss characteristics (e.g., loss of signal strength) of each conductor section should be analyzed to determine total loss for the entire circuit. This analysis of loss characteristics assists in evaluating the viability of the circuit for high-speed signal transmission. Components such as a regenerator 14 and a booster 16, for example, can be employed to enhance the suitability of the circuit for signal transmission. The regenerator 14 can be configured to regenerate a signal whose strength (typically measured in decibels) has degraded to the point where the signal has ceased or almost ceased to transmit through the cable pair 6. The booster 16 can be configured to increase the strength of the signal to a level that promotes effective use of the signal at the customer location 4.
In the event a change in the connection is needed, however, another available connection at the customer location 4 may not possess the requisite electrical characteristics to maintain the service level associated with the existing connection. For example, due to its different signal loss characteristics, a connection may be suitable for transmitting voice communications from the customer location 4 to the central office 2, but may not be suitable for transmitting high-speed data transmissions. Thus, for a high-speed service, a service technician 18 providing service at the customer location 4 cannot merely exchange the existing connection for another available connection without testing the new connection. The service technician 18 must identify an appropriate alternative cable pair, for example, that can sustain the service level of the prior cable pair connection.
In a conventional process, if the service technician 18 is at the customer location 4 to perform a special service pair change, for example, the technician 18 must communicate with a variety of personnel of the telecommunications entity by telephone. The technician 18 may need to contact an assignment office to analyze a proposed connection from the perspective of the customer. The technician 18 may also need to verify the presence of a load coil, for example, on the proposed connection (i.e., verify whether the proposed connection is “loaded” or “unloaded”). A load coil can block a high-speed signal from transmitting along a cable pair. Thus, personnel at the assignment office may need to check cable pair records for the presence of such load coils to ensure the availability of a proposed connection for reassignment to a special service application. In addition, personnel administering a component record keeping system for the telecommunications entity may need to be contacted by the technician 18 regarding the loss characteristics of the proposed connection. It can be seen that many separate telephone communications may be required to ensure that records are updated and circuit changes are properly implemented to provide the special service at the customer location 4.
It can be appreciated that a number of problems are inherent in the aforementioned conventional methods and systems for providing high-speed data transmission service. A technician may be forced to spend excessive amounts of time waiting to achieve telephone contact with one or more personnel of a telecommunications entity. Such telephone communications lend themselves to an increased possibility of error in diagnosing and addressing circuit design issues. These conventional methods and systems can adversely impact the integrity and real-time delivery of data collected and processed during installation and maintenance service operations. Furthermore, a variety of non-uniform and inconsistent training procedures may arise as a result of the lack of standardization associated with conventional analysis and correction of special service issues.
What are needed, therefore, are improved methods and systems for collection and communication of data for use in performing service on telecommunications systems. Such improved methods and systems are needed to overcome the previously discussed deficiencies associated with conventional service methods and systems.